UPDATE: Card spending fall suggests little Christmas cheer for retailers

UPDATE: Card spending fall suggests little Christmas cheer for retailers
Gavin Evans
(Adds economist comment from sixth paragraph, share prices in 11th. By Janny Ruth and Gavin Evans Jan. 16 (BusinessDesk) - Retail spending using electronic cards over the key Christmas period suggests retailers found little to cheer about in the festive season. Spending on cards fell a seasonally adjusted 2.3 percent in December from November and was down 0.2 percent in the December quarter compared with the September quarter on the same basis, according to Statistics New Zealand. That's despite actual figures showing that spending...